Driver Safety and Distractions

At 45 miles per hour, and glancing away from the road ahead for two seconds, a driver is driving blind for almost 132 feet, almost half of a football field length. As a result the driver’s reaction time to anything ahead is cut short. According to an NHTSA Study, police report over 25% of crashes involve some form of driver distraction. Distraction comes in the form of: visual – eyes off of the road; manual – hands off of the steering; and mental – turning your attention away from driving to something else. Distractions include: cell phone use, passengers, drowsiness, eating and drinking, grooming, reading, changing radio station, and aggressive drivers.


“The under-20 age group had the highest proportion of distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes (16%). The age group with the next greatest proportion of distracted drivers was the 20 to 29 year old age group (12%) (Distraction.gov on 12/2/10).”

Consider your local National Safety Council Chapter to provide drivers safety training in your area or organization.

Traffic Safety Facts: Driver Distraction

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